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Judge rules Milwaukee mosque president can be deported on Rubio's foreign-policy finding

Photo: U.S. Department of State / Public domain (source)

Judge Rules Milwaukee Mosque President Salah Sarsour Can Be Deported on Rubio’s Foreign-Policy Finding

by
M.A. Rothman

By M.A. RothmanSeptember 30, 2026 · 4 min read
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An immigration judge has ruled that Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported from the United States. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jayme Salinardi of the Chicago Immigration Court found Sarsour removable on foreign-policy grounds, relying on a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a decision his legal team announced on Sept. 30, 2026.

It is a ruling, not a plane ticket. Sarsour plans to appeal, and he cannot be removed until his legal options are exhausted. But the decision establishes something important: a green card is not a lifetime pass, and the secretary of state’s judgment about who threatens American foreign policy carries real weight in immigration court.

What the government says about him

ICE arrested Sarsour in Milwaukee on March 30, 2026. Days later, the Department of Homeland Security laid out its case in blunt language. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said: “Salah Salem Sarsour is a terrorist convicted for throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces.” She added: “This illegal alien from Jordan lied on his green card application to gain legal status in the U.S.”

According to DHS, Sarsour was convicted in Israel for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the homes of Israeli forces and for attempting to possess weapons and ammunition, and he did not disclose those convictions on his immigration forms. ICE said he became a green card holder in 1998.

The Associated Press reported that Sarsour, who was born in the West Bank, was imprisoned in 1988 after being convicted of throwing stones at Israeli military personnel, and was convicted in 1995 of attempting to possess weapons. His defense disputes the Molotov cocktail conviction, saying he was accused of it but not convicted, and his attorneys say he was coerced into confessing in both cases. Sarsour denies the crimes. He has lived in the U.S. since 1993 and has no criminal record here.

The Rubio provision

In June 2025, Rubio issued a memo invoking a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The law is short and direct: a noncitizen “whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”

Congress wrote that clause, and it gave the judgment to the secretary of state. The statute does carry exceptions, borrowed from the inadmissibility rules, that limit its use against people for lawful beliefs, statements or associations, which is why Sarsour’s free-speech argument matters to his case. Rubio used the same provision in the cases of pro-Palestinian campus activists Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi.

According to Taurel, Salinardi said he could not look behind Rubio’s finding and was bound by the decisions of higher courts. Sarsour’s attorney, Patrick Taurel, complained that the judge treated Rubio’s letter as “presumptive and sufficient evidence” that the government could remove his client and gave “extreme deference” to Rubio and to Israel. That complaint is, in a sense, the whole point. The statute exists so that foreign-policy calls are made by the official accountable for foreign policy, not second-guessed case by case.

The government did not win on every count. The judge rejected DHS’s separate claim that Sarsour lied to immigration authorities on his green card application, according to the AP. The deportability finding rests on the foreign-policy ground.

His side of the case

Sarsour’s legal team and supporters say he was detained because of his pro-Palestinian advocacy and note that the government has known about his record for years. In June, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered his release from the Clay County Jail in Indiana, where he had been held for more than 80 days, finding he had raised a “substantial” claim that he was targeted for speaking out against Israel. The administration has appealed that ruling.

Sarsour called the immigration ruling “deeply disappointing” and said he would keep fighting to defend free speech and to stay in the United States. Taurel told WPR, “We’re going to appeal the judge’s decision, and we look forward to being vindicated on appeal.”

What happens next

The judge gave Sarsour 60 days to file for relief from removal. Taurel said the team will most likely seek deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, arguing he would face torture if sent back. He acknowledged that is a “very high bar.” A trial on that request is likely early in 2027. Jordan is listed as a possible destination, which his team is contesting. Salinardi is retiring, and Judge Craig Defoe will take over the case.

Why this matters

For years, the default answer to cases like this was to look away. A man with an Israeli conviction record tied to attacks on Israeli forces rose to lead the state’s largest mosque, and the system treated his past as settled. This ruling says otherwise. Lawful permanent residence is a status America grants, and it comes with the understanding that the government can revisit it when the secretary of state concludes a person’s presence harms U.S. foreign policy.

Sarsour will get his appeal and his day in court on the torture claim. That is how a nation of laws should work. But the principle is now on the record: America’s alliance with Israel, and its refusal to host people tied to violence against Israelis, is a legitimate foreign-policy interest that the law protects.

A green card is a privilege America extends, not a shield for anyone the secretary of state judges a threat to American foreign policy.

Sources

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